KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As the U.S. men’s national soccer team gears up for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, one player looks forward to playing matches for his nation back in his hometown of Kansas City.
Nicholas Gioacchini was born in Kansas City, Missouri, but can claim a lot of places. His family moved to Italy, his father's home country, when he was 8. He moved to Maryland when he was 12, and then moved to France when he was 15.
He now plays professionally in France but considers the KC area home.
"Kansas City is really home for me. I lived in a bunch of places and on and off the page, Kansas City is home. I just feel back to where I came from and where maybe eventually I belong," he said on Tuesday during a media availability.
“It’s the home where I also want to bring back this pride. This is Kansas City. I see soccer has developed extremely between the last 10 years. I just want to keep it that way — growing, growing, growing and hopefully, maybe by the end of my career, I'll bring back some culture and some diversity to the place to make it an even bigger city of soccer. That is my dream. My dream is to really make this the center of soccer in America," Gioacchini said.
The USMNT will play July 11 at Children's Mercy Park against the winner of Haiti and Bermuda
